Healthy vending guidelines

Obesity and poor nutrition are serious problems in King County. A key strategy of obesity prevention is improving access to healthy food and reducing access to unhealthy food.

More than half of King County adults and almost one-third of youth are overweight or obese, increasing the risk for serious health problems.

Less than one-third of adults and youth report eating the recommended five fruits and vegetables per day, and one-third of youth report consuming one or more sodas on the previous day.

It's often difficult for King County residents to eat nutritious food when eating outside the home because there is a lack of healthy optionsespecially when making food and beverage selections from vending machines. Despite how common vending machines are, this is the first time guidelines for selecting healthier choices for vending machines are available in King County. Nutrition guidelines are an emerging strategy to improve the nutritional quality of food available in vending machines.

The King County Healthy Vending Guidelines, adopted by the King County Board of Health, provide recommendations for the nutritional quality of food and beverages in vending machines to help make the healthy choice, the easy choice. See full language of King County Board of Health Guideline & Recommendation #11-02.